Summary:

I've started Beachbody's Ultimate Reset, a 21-day body cleanse program broken into three one week phases; Reclaim, Release, and Restore. The benefit of doing this program include removal of toxins from our body, weight loss, increased energy, lowering the bad cholesterol, boost mood and mental clarity and improve regularity. Basically filtering out your body to remove toxins and bad elements to reset it back to a healthier state.

This week I finally made time to begin Beachbody’s Ultimate Reset. A 21-day body cleanse program broken into three one week phases; Reclaim, Release, and Restore. The benefit of doing this program include removal of toxins from our body, weight loss, increased energy, lowering the bad cholesterol, boost mood and mental clarity and improve regularity. Basically filtering out your body to remove toxins and bad elements to reset it back to a healthier state.

The following is basically my journal logging my progress, meals, and experience as I complete the program. The key goals I’d like to achieve in doing this program include healthier eating habits, lose about 15 to 20 pounds in weight and reduction in bad cholesterol along with any other bad elements in my body. I’ll be logging all my meals with photos through my Instagram.

Medications. Wanted to note that since being diagnosed with Addison’s disease back in 2005 I’ve been taking Hydrocortisone and Fludrocortisone medications daily. There is no change in my medication intake.

Ultimate Reset – Week 1: Reclaim

The first phase to reclaim the body by balancing the inner chemistry and preparing it for change. There is a daily regimen to follow to ensure your getting all the supplements provided along with following a healthy balanced menu.

Program Day 1: Wednesday, September 4th, 2013

Target completion on Day 21: Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

Day 1

Weight: 211 pounds

Woke up at 6:40 am by Jäger the cat. Took a few deep breaths, got up and did the Five Tibetan Rites exercises. Took the first reset ingredients with 12 oz of water followed by another 12 oz of water. No more espresso in the morning.

Meals

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs with a side of chard (picked from my garden) sautéed with garlic and pine nuts, two slices of dry grain toast. Not buttering the toast was fine, I think it is just a bad habit to always spread something on our toast. By the time I was done eating I realized that I didn’t really miss the butter.

Using the fresh grapefruits I got from Jussi’s place made this really tasty. A raw veggie salad really can be delicious and this one was no exception.

Snack

Raw nuts, banana chips, dried apricots, and one tangelo.

Dinner

Baked salmon with ginger, garlic, lemon and italian parsley in lemon juice and olive oil, a side of steamed asparagus and boiled potato.

The first time I’ve cooked fish for myself at home in ages. Usually I eat all vegetarian diet when cooking at home, however the reset called for salmon so I figured why not treat myself.

Water

10 glasses of water. (120 ounces)

I downloaded the Water Your Body Android app (also available for iOS) on my HTC One phone that helps me keep track of how many glasses I’m drinking. Plus it will remind you to drink water regularly incase you go for an extended period without water.

Day 1 Summary

Overall I felt pretty good throughout the day. A little hungry at times between meals but I snacked on some plain roasted almonds, walnuts, banana chips, and dried apricots. By the late afternoon and going into the evening I was starting to get a mild headache. Most likely due to no caffeine from not having my morning espresso coffee. Before going to sleep I went for a brisk half mile walk around our neighborhood.

Day 2

Weight: 207 pounds (4 pounds lost)

First woke up at 5:20 am by Jäger the cat, but went back to sleep until 7:00 am. Headache was gone. Felt like a I got a good deep restful sleep. Got up to use the restroom and weighed myself. Surprised that I was 4 pounds less than yesterday morning. Went back into bed and relaxed about 15 minutes while doing steady breathing, then got up and did the Five Tibetan Rites exercises.

Meals

Breakfast

1 cup of oatmeal with cinnamon cooked in plain flax seed milk with 3/4 cups of blueberries, then 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt with 1/4 cup of blueberries, both topped off with some toasted almond slivers. I’m a big fan of fresh blueberries so this was exceptionally yummy!

Lunch

The menu called for greek salad with chicken. I haven’t had chicken in over 20 years and I’m not about to start. I also didn’t have any kalamata olives, but I did have some green olives and feta cheese. So I made a semi-greek salad with veggies, green olives, and feta cheese tossed in a fresh made grapefruit and ginger vinaigrette dressing. Yum!

Snack

A few hours after lunch I’m taking this green Alkalinize powder mixed with water. Tastes like grass and seaweed, not too bad. Then for my snack I had a few almonds and a banana.

Dinner

Brown rice mixed with black beans and corn. I simmered up a can of black beans and tossed in some fresh red onion, jalapeño, corn, garlic, cilantro and spices. Then mixed 1 cup of brown rice with about 3/4 of a cup of the black bean mix, tossed in some more fresh cilantro. Served it an organic yellow corn tortilla as a taco with sliced avocado. On the side a generous serving of fresh steamed kale that was steamed with some garlic and lemon slices. Topped off with toasted pine nuts, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

I usually pan fry my greens, this was the first time I tried steaming them and they turned out really good. Only for a few minutes and they turned out delicious.

Water

12 glasses of water. (144 ounces)

I tend to drink a good amount of water everyday, however I’m finding that now I’m increasing my water intake by 3 to 5 more glasses a day.

Day 2 Summary

Wrapped up day 2 feeling good. Dinner was really yummy and filling. Went on a brisk half mile walk around the neighborhood before heading to bed. Didn’t get to sleep until around 11:00 pm.

Day 3

Weight: 205 pounds (6 pounds lost)

Restless night of sleep, it was hot and humid, 90° most of the night. I always sleep with the window open and a fan in the window plus our ceiling fan on, both on the low setting. I woke up at least 3 maybe 4 times throughout the night. Then around 5:00 am Jäger the cat climbed up on me, but I went back to sleep until around 7:00 am.

Got up to use the restroom, the first bowel movement since starting the program, usually I go every morning. I weighed myself, 205 pounds, that’s a total of 6 pounds lost in 2 days, not bad. Went back into bed and relaxed about 15 minutes while doing steady breathing, then got up and did the Five Tibetan Rites exercises. Took a cool shower and went down to make breakfast.

Meals

Breakfast

This morning’s breakfast was 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of dry whole grain toast, half a bag of baby spinach cooked with some garlic, ginger, and a tiny dash of turmeric, cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt in lemon juice and water. Also added a sliced pear for my fruit serving.

Lunch

Today’s lunch was two dishes, the first was green lentils with shredded carrots, red onion, herbs, spices, lime zest, lime juice and sesame oil. Then a raw veggie salad all topped off with toasted sunflower seeds. A delicious combination.

Snack

No snack, didn’t feel hungry. Took the Alkalinize a few hours after lunch.

Dinner

First time making sushi. It turned out ok, but I think next time I’ll make it tighter and wet the rice down a little with some vinegar and water to help it stick together. Still for my first time, it turned out yummy! The recipe called for 1 strip of smoky tempeh, carrots, cucumbers and avocado. I also had some left over cooked asparagus so I added two of them into it along with some sriracha hot sauce for added spice.

Also had a side of cucumber and avocado pickled salad and a bowl of miso soup with tofu, carrots, ginger, and green onions.

Water

12 glasses of water. (144 ounces)

As part of the program your supposed to use distilled water. However we’ve been using this Hexagon Alkaline Hydrogen Water filtration system that provides good clean water. I simply fill up a 5 gallon Sparkletts water bottle every few days with water run through the filtration system, at the same time I always add in a big pinch of Himalayan pink salt which helps provide additional minerals.

Anyway, as part of the Ultimate Reset program we have to add a few things to the drinking water. Mineralize which is basically Himalayan pink salt and Oxygenize which is liquid oxygen and minerals. For every 12 ounce glass I add a few dashes of the Mineralize and most the time adding about 5 drops of the Oxygenize, except for the water I drink between lunch and dinner. During that time I take one Alkalinize packet mixed with about 5 ounces of water.

Day 3 Summary

Wrapped up day 3 feeling less hungry as I didn’t end up having a snack between lunch and dinner. Although I suspect the delicious lentil lunch which was very filling helped keep me going until dinner time. Dinner was fun, I made a sushi roll for the first time and it turned out pretty good. I did notice late in the evening that my mental clarity and energy seemed to be higher. I felt really good. Went for a brisk half mile walk around the neighborhood before heading to bed. I think this is a key element in helping your body digest and burn off dinner before going to sleep.

Day 4

Weight: 204 pounds (7 pounds lost)

A little restless last night waking up a few times from my sleep. It might just be the heat as its been about 90° when going to bed and only cooling down to about 82° by morning. Got up around 6:30 am, used the restroom and had another bowel movement. Weighed myself, lost another pound, now at 204 pounds.

One thing to note, since starting this week I haven’t been running or mountain biking yet. The program suggest not doing strenuous exercise during the 21 day program. I want to go for a mild run or ride, maybe tomorrow. I am still doing the five Tibetan Rites exercises, 21 reps of each. They are getting easier and it feels good doing it in the morning when getting up.

Meals

Breakfast

Fruit bowl of 2 cups of fresh fruit. Pineapple, grapefruit, asian pear, and blueberries with half a cup of plain yogurt topped off with some fresh mint and roasted sunflower seeds. Also a slice of dry whole grain toast.

Lunch

Tempeh and veggie sushi rolls, just like dinner last night. However this time the sushi turned out better with only the last two kinda falling apart. I still gotta make them tighter. Never the less, it still turned out delicious!

Then today’s menu also called for some lentil lime salad and micro greens salad, but I just combined the two adding raw veggies like celery, carrots, corn, jicama, and herbs to the lentils with spices, lime zest, juice, and sesame oil. It was a good filling lunch.

Snack

Almonds, dried apricots, and an apple.

Dinner

Stir fry veggies with quinoa. The one thing I noticed that most of these recipes don’t call for is ginger, garlic, or chili peppers. A few key items that not only provide tremendous health benefit but also a ton of delicious flavor to food. So on many of the dishes I usually add in a clove of garlic and/or some fresh minced ginger. Plus I tend to enjoy spicy foods, so I add in fresh chopped chili peppers grown from my garden to both the stir fry and salad tonight.

I’ve always wanted to start using quinoa in my food. One of my favorite restaurants, Thomas Hill Organics in Paso Robles usually serves quinoa tossed with their side salad and its fantastic. Maybe this will help get me on a quinoa kick. The salad for dinner called for cucumber and tomato salad, but with more Mediterranean flavors using balsamic vinegar and basil. I thought that would not go so well with the stir fried veggies, so instead I used ginger, lime, mirin, and rice wine vinegar for the dressing. Overall delicious dinner.

Water

13 glasses of water. (156 ounces)

Day 4 Summary

One thing I noticed this morning is I’m not missing my morning espresso coffee, at least not the caffeine. I love the taste of good strong coffee, but I clearly don’t need the so called boost it can give us from drinking it. Maybe after the reset I’ll try decaf espresso beans when I want to enjoy a good cup of espresso.

Day 5

Weight: 204 pounds (7 pounds lost)

Woke up around 6:00 am and had a much better night of sleep last night, I feel like I got a good deep sleep and Jäger the cat didn’t wake me up, he came to me after I had already woken up. Otherwise I’m feeling about the same as yesterday. Got up and noticed my weight didn’t change this morning. Then I did the five Tibetan Rites exercises and went down to drink some water and begin preparing breakfast. It is farmers market day, so I’m off to go get some fresh vegetables and fruit after breakfast.

Meals

Breakfast

Oatmeal with 3/4 cup of blueberries and walnuts.

Lunch

Today’s lunch was refreshing. Quinoa salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, and herbs toss with a little lemon juice. Then a side serving of raw carrots, red bell peppers and cherry tomatoes with a serving of homemade hummus.

I need to remember that eating raw veggies and fruit as a meal makes you feel much better. I felt really good the rest of the afternoon, alert and focused with good energy.

For the hummus, I decided to make it from scratch using canned chickpeas (garbonzo beans) and northern white beans. It was easy to make, using the beans and mixing them together with some tahini, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic cloves, a handful of fresh italian parsley, chili peppers from the garden, cumin, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a food processor.

Snack

No snack during the day, but I did have a delicious farmers market peach about an hour after dinner.

Dinner

Stir fry veggies but with brown rice tonight. Most the veggies were fresh from the farmers market this morning. Brocoli, carrots, green beans, yellow squash, and thai basil, only mushroom and onions were not. This time I cooked them less than the other night, quicker on a higher heat to keep them nice and crispy. Still added ginger, garlic and chili peppers, essential spices for good flavor.

Water

13 glasses of water. (156 ounces)

As part of the program take Optimize a half an hour before every meal, two pills, three times a day. The label says it promotes healthy metabolism and effective body functions.

Day 5 Summary

Felt really good throughout the day and into the night. I stayed up late, till about midnight or so working on a project. I still went out for a half mile walk before heading to bed.

Day 6

Weight: 203 pounds (8 pounds lost)

On and off night of sleep again, woke up at least 3 times, but by the morning around 7:00 am when I finally woke up I did feel fairly well rested. Got up to use the restroom, no bowel movement today, and weighed myself. Now at 203 pounds, for a total of 8 pounds lost in 6 days, not too bad. I hope by the end of the 21-days I’m down to 190 pounds. Did my five Tibetan Rights exercises, I noticed I’m getting more flexible on third and fourth rite. Must mean that something is working!

Meals

Breakfast

Baked tempeh with steamed coconut kale and avocado with a slice of whole grain toast (not pictured). I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years now and I’ve had tempeh before, but rarely have I cooked with it. I don’t know why, probably just not thinking of good recipes for it. This recipe called to marinate it for an hour and then bake it, which turned out really good. Going forward I’m going to begin including tempeh in my meals more often.

Lunch

Green salad with raw veggies and fresh herbs tossed in a ginger grapefruit vinaigrette. Delicious. The menu also called for a side of quinoa salad, so I used some of the left over lentil salad and some quinoa and mixed it together.

Snack

No snack. All of the days meals ran a bit later than usual.

Dinner

Tonights dinner was refreshing. First was roasted root vegetables of yam (sweet potato), beet, carrot, and red onion tossed in olive oil with salt, pepper and fresh picked rosemary, thyme, and sage from the garden. Then roasted in the oven for about 45 minutes. This turned out really good.

On the side some toasted millet, or couscous, which I had made last week. Just heated up and topped with fresh italian parsley.

Then the real surprise was a cashew and zucchini soup. So simple, yet so yummy. Soak 1/4 cup of cashews for about an hour in water, then drain. Steam 1 medium zucchini, then toss into a blender with a handful of fresh herbs, I used cilantro and thai basil, add salt, pepper, and broth or water. I used broth. Blend until smooth adding more liquid as needed until the right consistency. Top of fresh herbs and a few crushed cashews. Really refreshing and yummy!

Water

13 glasses of water. (156 ounces)

Feels good drinking this much water. I can definitely feel the difference.

Day 6 Summary

It was a good day, overall I felt a good balance of energy and mental clarity allowing me to get a lot of work done. Went for a brisk half mile walk before heading to bed.

Day 7

Weight: 203 pounds (8 pounds lost)

Had a good night sleep, I don’t remember waking up and I felt good in the morning. Maybe because it cooled down a bit and got into the 70’s which is more comfortable than 90’s. Got up to use the restroom, had a bowel movement and weighed myself. Still at 203. I’ve been wanting to go exercise, but holding off because the program recommends taking it easy other than some light activity. However this morning I decided to run an errand and go for a sunrise bike ride to the post office. Rode 10.6 miles in about an hour on the local paseos paths. Since I did the bike ride, I skipped the five Tibetan Rites today.

Meals

Breakfast

Oatmeal with blueberries and walnuts, but this time the menu called for 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed. Plus 1/2 cup of plain yogurt with fresh strawberries. I also added 1 tablespoon of the ground flaxseed to the yogurt. Delicious!

Lunch

Lunch menu called for zucchini cashew soup with micro-green salad. This time for the soup I added a small chunk of ginger and garlic to the soup for a little more kick. The salad was raw veggies and grapefruits tossed in a ginger grapefruit vinaigrette. Yummy and a filling, I think I made too much salad.

Snack

Delicious organic peach from the farmer market.

Dinner

The dinner menu called for the rest of the tempeh that was marinating since yesterday along with a side of veggies (asparagus and mushrooms) and rice. I didn’t feel like making another batch of rice since I had a serving of couscous left over, so I used that instead. Topped with toasted black sesame seeds and thai basil. Yummy and filling!

Water

13 glasses of water. (156 ounces)

Day 7 Summary

Feeling a bit fuller this evening than usual, I think my serving portions were a little heavier today. Still overall I feel good. Went for my evening half mile walk before heading to bed.

Ultimate Reset – Week 1: Reclaim Wrap-Up

First week of the Ultimate Reset is done. Overall it’s been really good. I’ve increased my daily water intake and I definitely feel like I’m eating healthier than before. I’ve lost a total of 8 pounds in the first week, which I feel is really good. I’ve been taking photos about every other day in the morning, while it is subtle, you can see the difference in the day 1 to day 8 before and after photo, mainly in the belly area. I’m looking forward to loosing another 8 to 10 pounds or more by the end of the 21 days.

I think that in addition to providing a general cleanse for the body, this is more about injecting the right types of habits into our lives and hoping that they stick. For me the habits are eating a healthier vegetarian and vegan diet, drinking more water, and walking before going to sleep in addition to regular exercise.

The program comes with this bracelet to help remind us to stay on track with the program. The next week takes it to the next level cutting all dairy foods out of my meals, so no eggs or yogurt, adding in more veggies, fruits and grains. Then it adds a new detox supplement taken three times daily that really starts the cleanse phase.

So far I’m happy that I’m doing this, the only thing I miss is going out for an extended trail run or a mountain bike ride. I might try to squeeze one or two in next week and see how I feel. We’ll see how it goes, I’ll be doing a similar post for Phase 2 that I’ll post next week about the same time, until then…stay tuned in on my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook for more food photos.